Lovely Dutch gardens

Many Dutch people love gardening. It is amazing how they creatively arrange diverse types of plants in their small yard or even on their balcony. There is no particular style of gardening that can be distinguished as ‘Dutch-style’ but that makes it all the more interesting. People here just decorate their yard freely with their own unique ideas, resulting in wonderfully diverse plant exhibitions.

One afternoon I was walking around near my place when I saw a house with a small front lawn full of messy bushes, or so I thought. When I looked more closely, I realized that the plants were not carelessly planted at all. The owner had arranged them immaculately according to their types and colours. The garden was like a living flower bouquet.

Dutch gardens show that size doesn’t matter when it comes to gardening

While Dutch people don’t generally have very spacious yards, size does not really matter when it comes to gardening. Even when they live in an apartment and only own a balcony, they will hang their plants in pots along the balcony edge. To me, those hanging gardens are super-cute. I always look up every time I pass by apartment buildings.

Inspired by many gardens I have seen here so far, I am now trying to make my own ‘garden' in my room too. Although some plants will probably not survive my near-zero gardening skills, it is still an enjoyable hobby that I hope I can continue even when I am back in my country.

Do you have a nice anecdote about your experience of going Dutch? Send it in! Describe an encounter with Dutch culture in detail and comment on it briefly. 300 words max. Send it to resource@wur.nl and earn twenty-five euro and Dutch candy.